Guide to the homologation of foreign higher education degrees to official Spanish university or master’s degrees to work in Spain

Have you obtained a university degree from a country other than Spain and want to work in Spain? Do you know that you don’t need to study to obtain a Spanish diploma to work in Spain? This article will talk about how to make the homologation of foreign higher education degrees and be eligible to work in Spain.

1. What are the requirements to obtain this document?

2. What are the documents I need to prepare for the application?

3. How to present the application?

4. You can also choose to come to Spain before getting the homologation!

1. What are the requirements to obtain this document?

The requirements are quite simple:

• You need to be a graduate of an official non-Spanish higher education institution.
• You need to pay the fee required to initiate the process.

2. What are the documents I need to prepare for the application?

All the documents provided must be official, duly legalized, and issued by competent authorized organizations. If the documents are presented in foreign languages, you need to have certified copies of their corresponding translation into Spanish. The competent authorities for the verification of the documents are:

• Registry of the ministry of universities
• Delegations and sub delegations of the government
• Spanish consulates and embassies
• Notary

The documents needed are as follows:

• Duly filled in and signed Tasa 790, together with the payment certificate of the fee
• Original document and certified copy of the passport or NIE to provide the identity and nationality of the applicant
• Original document and certified copy of the diploma to be homologated, together with the official translation.
• Certified copy of the academic certification of the studies carried to obtain the degree, together with the official translation. This document should include:
  • The official duration of the study plan followed (in academic years)
  • The subjects are taken and the total workload of each one of them expressed in hours or in ECTS (European) credits
• Spanish proficiency level certificate. This document could be shown by presenting the following documents:
  • Certificate DELE B2 or above.
  • Official certification of Nivel Avanzado (B2), issued in an official language school
  • An aptitude test of Spanish (B2), issued by an official language school
  • A certificate was issued by the center where 75% of the studies were completed in Spanish
  • A certificate showing that the training prior to access to higher education was completed in Spanish
• Additional document for graduates that wish to become doctors in Spain in the following cases:
  • If the graduate completed the degree 6 years before the date of the document submission, and the graduate can only present professional practice as self-employed or are not in a certified clinic:
    • The applicant should present continuous training of at least 3 years with the last 5 years.
  • If the graduate resides in a country other than the one where the degree was issued and cannot prove professional experience in recent years in the country where he or she got the qualification:
    • in addition to the documents proving the professional practice as a self-employed doctor
    • The applicant must provide the certification accrediting the institution and a copy of the homologation of their title that enables them to practice the profession as a doctor in their current country of residence.

3. How to present the application?

There are 2 types of homologation processes:

• The first one is to only recognize the equivalence of the academic level.
  • This is only to show that you have obtained a bachelor's or master’s degree. But it cannot show that your degree is of a particular major.
  • If you request this type, you can expect the process to be around 6-8 months.
  • You need to access it here to submit the documents.
• The second one is to recognize both the academic level and your major.
  • For example, if you want to have your diploma accredited as a medicine bachelor graduate, then you can apply for this process.
  • If you request this type, you can expect the process to take around a year or more.
  • You need to access it here to submit the documents.

4. You can also choose to come to Spain before getting the homologation!

• If you want to invest in Spain and later start your professional job using your foreign degrees, you can apply for an investor visa (golden visa) and come to Spain before your validation is ready.
  • If you want to reside in Spain and start to work later, you can also think about applying for a non-lucrative visa. Don’t be deceived by the name of the visa type. After holding this visa for 1 year, you can apply for a working visa and start to work in Spain.
  • One of the requirements to complement these two visa application processes is that you need to have qualified visa insurance (medical insurance). We want to present to you our expat insurance, the best-rated medical insurance in Spain.

Check out another one of our blogs to learn more about this topic:

• How to apply for a Spanish student visa
• Guide to the Spanish education system
• Spanish higher education: why choose Spain as the destination?
• How to apply for the student NIE/TIE in Spain for the first time?
• How to choose a school in Spain: Spanish vs international schools
• How to get a foreign degree accredited to work/study in Spain?

Reference:

[1] BOE.es - BOE-A-2015-13435 Orden ECD/2654/2015, de 3 de diciembre, por la que se dictan normas de desarrollo y aplicación del Real Decreto 967/2014, de 21 de noviembre, en lo que respecta a los procedimientos para la homologación y declaración de equivalencia de títulos extranjeros de educación superior. (2021). Retrieved 18 October 2021, from https://www.boe.es/eli/es/o/2015/12/03/ecd2654 

Our content will be updated according to the most recent legislation. Last update: 01/08/2023